News

The week ahead, the week that was

Comcast offers £26bn for Disney

COMCAST, the American cable group, has made a surprise bid for Walt Disney. It made public the £26 billion offer after being rebuffed in private talks by Disney’s chief executive, Michael Eisner.

BP reported record annual profits of £6 billion for the 2003 calendar year, but the results still fell £300m short of market expectations.

Sir Ian Prosser, the former chairman of the hotel company Six Continents, was named as the next deputy chairman of J Sainsbury, the struggling supermarket group. Prosser’s appointment angered some shareholders, who said they had hoped for a more adventurous choice.

Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football franchise, instructed Commerzbank to examine a bid for Manchester United, in which he owns a 17% stake. John Magnier and JP McManus, the Irish millionaires, meanwhile lifted their stake to 29%.